Feminism advocates for women's political, social, and economic equality to men. There are many forms of feminism that have developed over time with different focuses, such as liberal feminism which focuses on legal equality, Marxist feminism which views capitalism as oppressive, and radical feminism which sees patriarchy as the primary form of oppression. Feminist epistemology posits that women have different ways of knowing and understanding the world than men. Feminist research aims to re-vision the traditionally male-centered perspectives and address discrimination based on gender differences.

1. Feminism and
Feminist Research
“Re-Visioning the Man-Made World”
Michael Crotty
Presentation Group 5
Wright and Clinger

2. What is Feminism?
O “The advocacy of women’s rights on the
grounds of political, social, and
economic equality to men.”
O Merriam Webster Dictionary
O “Feminism speaks with one voice in
characterizing the world it
experiences…”
O (Crotty, 1998, p.160)

3. What is Feminism?
O “Men’s own interests are utterly at stake.
They are, after all, victims as well as
perpetrators of patriarchy and sexism…
O …patriarchy and sexism are not fetters
worn by females only; they severely limit
human possibility for males as well.”
O (Crotty, 1998, 162)

4. Plural, Not Singular
O “People may speak and write of
‘feminism’ in the singular, just as they
speak and write of ‘positivism’,
‘interpretivism’ and ‘critical theory’ in
the singular, but there are, of course,
many feminisms.”
O (Crotty, 1998, p.160)
O There are many Feminisms, but even
these categories can be limiting.

5. Liberal Feminism
O Reformist
O Based in the “humanism of liberal
political thought” (Crotty, 1998, 163)
O Personal autonomy should be protected
O State should protect civil liberties and not
interfere with lives of individuals

6. Liberal Feminism
O Egalitarian or Welfare
Focuses on social justice
Wants state intervention to provide
equality

7. Marxist Feminism
O Revolutionary
O Changes in structure of classes is the
major goal
O Focuses on women’s work, both paid and
unpaid
O View Capitalism as source of oppression
for women

8. Radical Feminism
O “The oldest, most profound and most
widespread oppression of all.” (Crotty,
1998, p.164)
O Serves as the baseline for understanding
other types of oppression
O Sexual and reproductive concerns are
paramount

9. Psychoanalytic Feminism
O Stems from Freudian theory
O Sexuality is a focus
O Freud often seen as being at odds with
Feminism, but many Feminists identify
with his ideas

10. Socialist Feminism
O “A confluence of Marxist, radical and,
more arguably, psychoanalytic streams
of feminist thought.” (Tong, 1995, p.173)
O Draws on strong points of each of these
theories
O An attempt to unify Feminists who come
from different schools of thought

11. Existentialist Feminism
O Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex
(1953) is the key text
O Reflects on the human condition
O Focus on “Self” and “Other” with men
being the “self” and women the “other.”
O To combat myths, women need to join
the workforce, entering the ranks of
intellectuals and taking part in socialist
transformation.

12. Postmodern Feminism
O Focuses on the breakdown of traditional
ideals:
O Beautiful/ugly
O Happy/sad
O Weak/strong
O Funny/sullen
O Reason/emotion
O Self/other
O Oedipal phases—symbolic to language

13. Feminist Epistemology
O “Women speak ‘in a different
voice.’…men and women have different
ways of perceiving the world and
relating to it.”
O Crotty, 1998, p.174
O “The fundamental act of knowing is
different for women.” p. 174

14. Feminist Epistemology
O Radical feminism—To “bring
revolutionary change within the realm of
the possible” (Chester in Crotty, p. 172)
O Siegfried notes that feminine traits ,“can
be understood as the expression of a
feminine style without implying that all
women think this way or that no men do.”
(Crotty, p. 172)

15. Feminist Epistemology
O Feminist insights are grounded in and
stem from a specifically feminist
viewpoint. (Crotty, p. 173)
O Jagger identifies,“a continuous feedback
loop between our emotional constitution
and our theorizing such that each
continually modifies the other and is in
principle inseparable from it.” (Crotty, p.
175)

16. Feminist Epistemology
O “Emotions become feminist when they
incorporate feminist perceptions and
values.” (Jagger in Crotty, p. 176)
O “Feminism is a movement to change the
way one looks at the world and feminist
theory is part of that struggle.” (Crotty, p.
176)

17. Conclusion
O Women researchers are NOT:
 Qualitative rather than quantitative
 Constructivist rather than objectivist
 Experiential rather than cerebral
 Interactive rather than non-involved
 Caring rather than dispassionate
 A seeking of shared understanding
rather than an attempt to prove a point
 Action-oriented rather than theoretical
 Collaborative and participative rather
than otherwise

18. O Feminists are not worried about inherent
differences between the sexes, but about
discrimination because of those
differences.
O Research is re-vision.
O “Feminist research addresses the world
to ‘know it differently than we have ever
known it’…and to fashion it anew.” (Rich
in Crotty, p. 182)